Monday, June 17, 2013

Madeira Mesh Cowl

Madeira Mesh Cowl

I'll be honest: I bought this yarn because it was on sale, and I thought it was very pretty in a neutral sort of way.  And then I found this nice stitch pattern, which is both reversible and open, and I FINALLY convinced myself to make a simple cowl, without any shaping, whose difficulty lies in the stitch pattern alone.  Yup, that pretty much covers it.

Yarn: Berroco Linsey (64% Cotton, 36% Linen; 114 yards [105 meters]/50 grams); #6556 Shell - two skeins

Needles: One 24" circular needle in size 6
A close-up of the pattern

Notions: Tapestry needle, stitch marker or yarn scrap to mark end of round

Gauge: 21 stitches = 4 inches

Cast on 144 stitches, place marker, and join in round.  Next, knit one set-up row in a knit one, purl one design.  Finally, it's time to begin the main pattern, which is Madeira Mesh from page 151 of Barbara G. Walter's A Treasury of Knitting Patterns, and goes as follows:

Rows 1, 3, & 5: * yo, p3tog, yo, k3; rep from *

Rows 2, 4 & 6: * yo, k3tog, yo, p3 *

Rows 7, 9, & 11: * k3, yo, p3tog, yo *

Rows 8, 10, & 12: * p3, yo, k3tog, yo *

Knit all rows of pattern four times in total, or until desired length is reached.  Knit a final row in a knit one, purl one design.  Bind off loosely, tuck in ends.  Guess what?  You're done!


38 comments:

  1. Am I correct to assume the stitch pattern is 6 stitches? If I wanted to make this longer would it be correct to add increments of 6?

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    1. You've got it - any multiple of six should do you! And I bet this would look nice as a longer piece...

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  2. This looks great. What do you mean by: "knit one, set up row"?

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    1. Hi Julia! All I mean is that, after casting on, you should knit one round in a * k1, p1 * pattern before you begin the main pattern. Let me know if you need any more help!

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  3. I have some of this very yarn in my stash without a project. This is the one! Thanks.

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    1. What a great coincidence! Please, let me know if you have any questions!!!

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  4. Love this pattern. I live in a very remote area, though, and don't have any of this yarn available. What weight yarn is linzey? I will use something from my stash. :-)

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    1. Hi Sandy! Either a heavier dk or a lighter worsted should do you just fine on this pattern. That's one of the nice things about an open cowl - they're not very fussy about gauge!

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  5. Thank you for the darling Madeira Cowl! Can't wait to knit it!

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    1. So glad you like it! Hope it turns out well. :) And, of course, don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!!!

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  6. I am a very new knitter, what does yo and tog mean....lol!

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    1. Hello there!

      In general, you can find terms defined in my glossary page, here: http://www.ballstothewallsknits.com/p/glossary-of-knitting-terms.html

      But, to answer your question, yo means yarn over (which is where you wind the yarn once around your right-hand needle in order to add a stitch), and tog is an abbreviation for together (so k2tog is knit 2 together). Let me know if you have any other questions! :)

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    2. Thanks so much! I have been doing these things and didn't even know it! LOL!

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    3. Knitting must be coming naturally to you then! :)

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  7. I like the look of this open pattern, however I'd rather make a scarf, not a cowl. However, you can't really do a YO at the beginning of a row. So would it be possible to use this pattern for a scarf somehow?? Thanks.

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    1. Totally! I think the easiest thing to do would be to add a garter or seed stitch border at the edge - that way you won't be starting with a yarn over. You will also need to convert the pattern for back-and-forth knitting rather than in-the-round knitting. Let me know if you need any help! :)

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    2. How many stitches would you suggest for the border? Just a couple? Yes, help, how would I convert the pattern for back-and-forth knitting? I didn't think of that! Thanks.

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    3. Luckily for you, it's actually simpler to knit this pattern back and forth and in the round! Here's the pattern I'd use for a scarf:

      Cast on 31 stitches and knit the following edging rows:

      Edging Row 1 (wrong side): knit

      Edging Row 2: knit

      Edging Row 3: knit

      And then move to the pattern, as follows:

      Rows 1 - 6: k2, * yo, p3tog, yo, k3; rep from * until you have 5 stitches left in row, end yo, p3tog, yo, k2

      Rows 7 - 12: k2, * k3, yo, p3tog, yo; from from * until you have 5 stitches left in row, end k5

      Knit rows 1 - 12 until desired length is reached; knit three rows as edging, bind off loosely, and tuck in ends. You can also modify the cast-on number as desired; simply add or subtract multiples of 6 stitches. Good luck! :)

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    4. Oops, I meant simpler back and forth THAN in the round! :)

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    5. Thank you so much!

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    6. Hello - first off, thank you for all your sharing of these neat patterns. On this one, I am definitely doing something wrong. I tried to do the circular pattern, and each row got less and less - it decreased every time. Any suggestions. Thank you

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    7. Hi! First off, how many stitches are you losing? My first idea is that you may be missing the first or last yo of each row - those are the easiest ones to forget. If that's not it, let me know, and I'll try to think of something else! :)

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  8. Hi! Thanks for sharing this lovely pattern. I'm also having the decreasing problem... When I yo, should I wrap it around the needle an extra time? Otherwise I seem to just be switching between purl and knit without adding a stitch to compensate for the two decreases of the k3tog. Or perhaps its something else? Thank you

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    1. Hi there!

      Yarn overs between purl and knit and knit and purl stitches are always a bit trickier than yarn overs between just knits or just purls. This tutorial covers all of the possibilities: http://knitting.about.com/od/learntoknit/ss/yarn-over.htm#step1

      Let me know if you have any other questions! :)

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    2. Wow! Your response time is phenomenal :-) That looks like it will solve my decrease issue--many, many thanks!

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    3. I am always happy to help. And my response time varies depending on my children, so you may have just gotten lucky! :)

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  9. Hi Gretchen - Thank you for these lovely patterns! I can wait to try the Madeira cowl first. ;O)

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    1. You are very welcome. :) And please, let me know if you have any questions!

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  10. Gretchen,

    Thank you for a great pattern--exactly what I've been searching for a special yarn I have! Your patterns are wonderful and have excellent instructions!

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    1. I'm always happy to help with those pesty stash yarns!!! :) Glad you are enjoying my patterns, and please let me know if you have any questions!

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  11. Replies
    1. Glad you like it! Let me know if you have any questions! :)

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  12. Thank you for this beautiful pattern! Getting back to knitting from a long time off. Help me understand - Are the yarnovers all above one another in a row or am I missing something? Thanks.

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    1. I'm glad to hear you like it! And yes, this is one of those mesh patterns where you work decreases and increases on every row - so, the yarn overs are above each other, but the yarn over on the row below will be worked into whatever decrease follows (the k3tog or the p3tog). Does that help?

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  13. Just came across your lovely pattern !I am going to try it for a shawl. Thanks so very much!!!

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    1. Wonderful! Let me know if you have any questions!!!

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  14. I have quivet yarn (musk ox) would it work in this pattern?

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    1. Hi! I'm sure you could use this pattern for your yarn, although if I were you I might do a few swatches with different needle sizes since the stuff is so precious! That way you can determine if you like it better with a tighter or looser appearance and adapt the pattern to your preference. Any number divisible by six will work for your cast on!

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